Ningxia, a region of fascinating physical, human and historic diversity
It was a Friday afternoon, a service was underway, shoes neatly placed outside the main, carpeted hall. As it finished, men wearing distinctive white circular caps emerged, getting on their bicycles and heading off to surrounding villages - some waving and shouting “Hello” to me. Beyond I looked across the surrounding landscape dotted with small villages. Sheep, watched over by two young boys, grazed near me.
Back on the highway, heading toward the Yellow River bridge at Zhongning, the weather was turning bright and sunny but away from the waters of the river, the land increasingly arid. Irrigation became essential for cultivation of rice and vegetables. The road headed northeast along the valley towards Yinchuan. After the quiet villages of southern Ningxia, the regional capital had a more cosmopolitan feel. That evening walking around the central area it was easy to understand why it was referred to as one of China’s more pleasant cities.
